Gayle Cherry

                                                                                         Gayle Cherry

Gayle Cherry was born and raised in Lynchburg where she graduated from E.C. Glass High School and Phillips Business College. Gayle’s interest in marketing led to a sales career in the paper industry, selling fine papers to printers, ad agencies and corporations. As she gained extensive knowledge in the industry, Gayle pursued her career with paper merchant houses within the Mead Corporation that relocated her from Lynchburg to Mead Merchants in Nashville, then on to Virginia Paper Company in Richmond.

In an industry dominated by men at the time, Gayle earned top sales recognition and became the first woman appointed to chair the Dyna-MMO Club Board, a group of eight directors selected from 31 merchant house delegates for their outstanding sales performance in the field.

During her early days in Lynchburg, Gayle was active in the Junior Women’s Club and the Lynchburg chapter of United Way. She also chaperoned Miss Lynchburg to the Miss Virginia Pageant. Over the years, Gayle has been involved in various church activities and volunteered for the Cancer Society and Meals-on-Wheels.

Gayle has been helped in her transition to Westminster Canterbury by her daughter, Lisa Crawford, who lives in Lynchburg. The move has Gayle missing her home and particularly her garden. She hopes that as she becomes acclimated with all there is to offer here at WC, she will find time to discover her own plot where she can again start digging in the dirt again.